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Abstract

This study explored the personal journey of 11 White college administrators who were identified as inclusive leaders at a predominately White institution (PWI), recognized nationally for its work on partnering diversity and excellence. One overall question guided this study: How do White college administrators describe their journey to becoming successful inclusive leaders at a predominately White institution? This question was explored from the perspective of critical race theory (CRT), that is, inclusive leadership for White administrators could be achieved by intentionally examining their construction of Whiteness and their personal racial identity.

Narrative inquiry was used to co-construct a developmental framework on inclusive leadership based on three face-to-face interviews and two group interviews; 7 participants identified as female, 4 as male; 6 were senior-level administrators, and 5 were middle-level administrators. Findings were represented through narrative and fictional narrative. An inclusive leadership framework emerged that included three overarching categories of (a) four developmental phases, (b) four processes that contributed to the transition between the phases, and (c) transformative life experiences that influenced the personal growth between phases. Sub-phases on the construction of Whiteness and racial privilege emerged as part of each phase. Findings suggested that purposeful commitment to examining personal identities contributed to professional roles as inclusive leaders at a PWI.